TV REVIEW Lost 4.13/ 4.14 "Theres No Place Like Home (2/3)"

Original US air date: 29/5/08

Flashforward: Ben tells Jack that the Oceanic Six must all return to the island because something bad has happened there, but it might be difficult to convince some of the others.

Island Life: Ben moves the Island and Locke takes over as the leader of the Others. The Oceanic Six make it of the island, but other survivors are not so lucky.

Verdict: Well, that was pleasantly unexpected – the Oceanic Six make it off the Island two seasons ahead of when we thought, but now need to go back! Presumably there’ll be big changes to the show’s format next year, which can only be a good thing. This two-hour finalé is a barnstorming climax to a fine season, jam-packed with great moments – the boat exploding; the rescue of the Oceanic Six (and the wonderfully emotional reunion of Desmond and Penny); the death of Keamy; the revelation that the Oceanic Six must return; the time travelling bunnies; and, of course, the Island moving. It’s a finalé that certainly delivers.

There are a couple of downers. Is anybody really convinced that Jin is dead? And Jack’s reasons for keeping what’s happened on the island seem weak (or at least ill-explained). Anybody who might want to harm those on the island already seem to know about it!

Day: 100-101, 30-31 Dec 2004

Cliffhanger: John Locke is in the coffin!

The Numbers: Alpert shoots Keamy 4 times in the back; Sayid kills a man at 8:15.

Did You Spot? Jack’s beard is a lot more convincing than in “Through the Looking Glass”.

Did You Spot 2? By the time Ben operates the system which “moves” the island he seems to be wearing the same clothes, and in the same physical condition, as he appeared at the beginning of the Flash Forward in “ The Shape of Things to Come” (when he appeared mysteriously in the desert).

Trivia: Season four ends having had no flashback/forward for Sawyer or Claire for the entire season (though she has a cameo appearance in Kate’s in this episode).

Trivia 2: For the first time in the show’s history, there’s a temporal in the series’ “island” storyline – after the Oceanic Six are rescued there’s a caption reading, “One week later”.

Trivia 3: When played backwards, the nonsense phone message Kate receives says, “The island needs you. You have to go back before it’s too late.”

Speculation: The light effect that engulfs the island is similar to the effect that happened when Desmond hit the failsafe in “Live Together, Die Alone” but not quite the same. Are the two phenomena linked somehow?

Speculation 2: Is previous Ben’s predecessor on the island? Did he "move" the island in the past, and so now cannot return to it?

Best Line: Locke: "“Is he talking about what I think he was talking about?" Ben: "If you mean time travelling bunnies, yes."